THERMAL: Three arrested in reported gunfire

Three Coachella men were arrested Monday, June 6, in connection with reported gunfire in Thermal.

Nobody was injured in the gunfire, which was reported at 12:22 p.m. near the intersection of 58th Avenue and Buchanan Street, according to a Riverside County Sheriff's Department news release. By the time officers arrived, the suspects had fled the area, leaving behind "multiple handgun casings."

Hours later, deputies received another report of gunfire in the area, the news release said. The caller told deputies that the suspects were in a blue Toyota Tundra.

Deputies located the pickup and arrested its three occupants: 25-year-old Nester Jesus Suarez, 23-year-old Ricardo Chavez, and 32-year-old Alejandro Mendoza.

Suarez and Chavez were both booked into jail on suspicion of negligent discharge of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm. Mendoza was booked into jail on suspicion of possessing a concealable firearm within a vehicle.

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